This is mine too. If I got the chance to go to space but I was guaranteed to die in the next six months, I would still do it. It would fulfill basically everything I wanted through my life. I know that sounds crazy, but my dad and I have talked about this a lot and we both agree that it would be worth it. I really hope commonplace spaceflight for civilians happens in my lifetime.

One thing moving to mirrorless is that you are supposed to turn off most bodies before swapping lenses. Most mirrorless systems close the shutter when turned off (as well as Canon stopping down the aperture and shifting focus to infinity) and you are only supposed to swap lenses while the body is off so as to lessen the exposure of the sensor to dust and contamination.

With DSLRs, the mirror box makes this much less of a problem, and the mirror being dusty isn’t really a huge issue. It’s something I have definitely had to become much more attentive of moving to mirrorless systems.

I am curious about the surveillance thing. Do you mean the photojournalist types that literally only document new surveillance equipment in, say, the city they live in? Or do you mean something different?

On a different but similar note, I have noticed that some left leaning journalists that I very much otherwise respect and listen to have started this trend of “don’t document protests” in the past years and I vehemently disagree with that take. Or, and this one gets me, documenting these events is only cool if you completely remove any context that could possibly capture what happened. A lot of these guys mean well, but I think it is a dangerous and counterproductive thought process when it comes to journalism.

This is a cheapening of the art and the technical education of photography.

Shouldn’t, but cops do stupid shit all the time

As protests go, you should be prepared to accidentally catch some splash damage (tear gas, pepper spray, being kettled, etc) regardless of your clothing. The suggestion of a high viz vest is a good suggestion though.

I shot most of the 2020 protest movement in SF on a bike and with a huge DSLR and a number of GoPros. The vast majority of people, protestors and cops included, did not concern themselves with me. Learn to read the scene, get away from bad situations if you are worried. You might miss a moment, but trusting my gut in these situations has saved my eyes and throat several times.

Protestors are liable to be very wary of being filmed. If asked to stop, it is a smart move to stop, or at least don’t film the individual that asked. People are putting their lives and livelihood on the line in many cases. There may be powerful people or nation states that want to do them harm. You can’t be the arbiter of how valid or likely that chance might be.

Absolutely film the shit out of police or public officials, if your local laws allow it.

One cardinal rule to live by at protests or large events/disturbances: KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Do not take a stance, at all. Remain neutral no matter what your feelings are. Even if you think you’ll be on the more popular side of things. Involving your personal stances either way is a bad, bad idea. Don’t wear shirts about the topic, or have a signs.

Mac’s come color calibrated out of the box. Do not mess with any settings on the internal display unless you REALLY know what you are doing.

Selling ANYTHING related to bikes is a huge stupid nightmare. I don’t even bother trying these days unless someone I know specifically asks me if I want to sell something bike related. I had so many stupid low ballers on my Straggler build during the pandemic that I just decided to keep it even though I literally never ride the thing.

I used to. I did web design and office/company photography for my clients way back in the mid 2000s, but these days my photography is for me. I like to see what I can do for myself and I only have myself as the critic and client.